Friday, 23 September 2016

We all meet strangers everyday. Wait, why strangers? We are never strangers, just friends we've never had a chance to speak. Ever wondered how you met your friend? It is actually the same way we meet strangers who in turn become our friends and even lovers.

That is the irony of life that i think astounds us. But despite that, our words may turn us into something we are not. Let us grow our wise inner selves and learn something that may help us in our daily lives...

""

Why be anything other than good? Why do anything other than love? ~Johnathan Dahl

To live in this world, you must be able to do three things: to love what
is mortal; to hold it against your bones knowing your own life depends
on it; and, when the time comes to let it go, to let it go. ~Mary Oliver

Be not angry that you cannot make others as you wish them to be, since
you cannot make yourself as you wish to be. ~Thomas à Kempis, Imitation of Christ, c.1420

You've got a lot of choices. If getting out of bed in the morning is a
chore and you're not smiling on a regular basis, try another choice.
~Steven D. Woodhull (b.1976, U.S. geologist), "Tuition," 1999

What saves a man is to take a step. Then another step. It is always the
same step, but you have to take it. ~Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Wind, Sand and Stars, 1939, translated from French by Lewis Galantière

Don't wait for the Last Judgment. It happens every day. ~Albert Camus, The Fall, 1956

Good for the body is the work of the body, and good for the soul is the
work of the soul, and good for either is the work of the other. ~Henry
David Thoreau

Anyone can carry his burden, however hard, until nightfall. Anyone can
do his work, however hard, for one day. Anyone can live sweetly,
patiently, lovingly, purely, till the sun goes down. And this is all
life really means. ~Robert Louis Stevenson

If you don't like how things are, change it! You're not a tree. ~Jim Rohn

In what you say of another, apply the test of kindness, necessity and
truth, and let nothing pass your lips without a 2/3 majority. ~Liz
Armbruster, on rbrault.blogspot.com

See everything; overlook a great deal; correct a little. ~Pope John XXIII

Give thanks for what you are now, and keep fighting for what you want to be tomorrow. ~Fernanda Miramontes-Landeros

Enjoy when you can, and endure when you must. ~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

You will turn over many a futile new leaf till you learn we must all write on scratched-out pages. ~Mignon McLaughlin, The Neurotic's Notebook, 1960

If you surrender to the wind, you can ride it. ~Toni Morrison

Never miss an opportunity to make others happy, even if you have to leave them alone in order to do it. ~Author Unknown

Do not confuse your vested interests with ethics. Do not identify the
enemies of your privilege with the enemies of humanity. ~Max Lerner, Actions and Passions, 1949

Sometimes it's more important to be human, than to have good taste. ~Brecht

Now that it's all over, what did you really do yesterday that's worth mentioning? ~Coleman Cox

Laziness will cause you pain. ~Slogan on T-shirt worn at the Vee Arnis Jitsu School of Self-Defense

[O]wning your burdens is half the battle. ~From the television show Scrubs

Have courage for the great sorrows of life and patience for the small
ones; and when you have laboriously accomplished your daily task, go to
sleep in peace. ~Victor Hugo

We have to live today by what truth we can get today and be ready tomorrow to call it falsehood. ~William James

You can tell more about a person by what he says about others than you can by what others say about him. ~Leo Aikman

In understanding freedom one understands also what discipline is....
Freedom and discipline go together, they are not two separate things....
Discipline does not mean suppression and control, nor is it adjustment
to a pattern or an ideology; it means a mind that sees 'what is' and
learns from 'what is'. ~Jiddu Krishnamurti, "Freedom," The Impossible Question, 1970 July 19th

Always when judging
Who people are,
Remember to footnote
The words "So far."
~Robert Brault, rbrault.blogspot.com

God grant me the serenity to accept the people I cannot change, the
courage to change the one I can, and the wisdom to know it's me. ~Author
unknown, variation of an excerpt from "The Serenity Prayer" by Reinhold
Neibuhr

People cannot go wrong, if you don't let them. They cannot go right,
unless you let them. ~Augustus William Hare and Julius Charles Hare, Guesses at Truth, by Two Brothers, 1827

Excess on occasion is exhilarating. It prevents moderation from
acquiring the deadening effect of a habit. ~W. Somerset Maugham, The Summing Up, 1938

The vow that binds too strictly snaps itself. ~Alfred Lord Tennyson, "The Last Tournament," Idylls of the King

The secret to happiness in your work is to find a job in which your neurosis is constructive. ~Jeanne LaMont, MD

I make the most of all that comes and the least of all that goes. ~Sara Teasdale, "The Philosopher"

If I had my life to live over, I'd have fewer meetings and more rendezvous. ~Robert Brault, rbrault.blogspot.com

Every one should keep a mental wastepaper basket and the older he grows
the more things he will consign to it — torn up to irrecoverable
tatters. ~Samuel Butler

Do what you can, with what you have, where you are. ~Theodore Roosevelt

Whatever we worship, short of God, is sure to be our undoing. ~Mignon McLaughlin, The Neurotic's Notebook, 1960

Toss your dashed hopes not into a trash bin but into a drawer where you
are likely to rummage some bright morning. ~Robert Brault, rbrault.blogspot.com

I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field
somewhere and don't notice it.... People think pleasing God is all God
care about. But any fool living in the world can see it always trying to
please us back. ~Alice Walker, The Color Purple, 1982

Be pleasant until ten o'clock in the morning and the rest of the day will take care of itself. ~Elbert Hubbard

On the bathing-tub of King T'ang the following words were engraved: "If
you would one day renovate yourself, do so from day to day. Yea, let
there be daily renovation." ~Confucian Analects

The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra. ~Jimmy Johnson

What a strange narrowness of mind now is that, to think the things we
have not known are better than the things we have known. ~Samuel Johnson

To sensible men, every day is a day of reckoning. ~John W. Gardner

Folks, I'm telling you,
birthing is hard
and dying is mean—
so get yourself a little loving
in between.
~Langston Hughes (1902–1967)

There is a time for departure even when there's no certain place to go. ~Tennessee Williams

Face what you think you believe and you will be surprised. ~William Hale White

Just remember, there's a right way and a wrong way to do everything and
the wrong way is to keep trying to make everybody else do it the right
way. ~M*A*S*H, Colonel Potter

If you don't understand the cause of the problem — your solution will become part of it. ~Dr. Idel Dreimer, www.lumpenbangenpiano.com

Begin, not from an imaginary past, to which you can never go back; not
from an imaginary future which you have not reached. Begin from the
present, with all its treasury of good—ay, and with all its treasury of
evil. And, keeping the pathway unbroken from the past to the future,
lead on to life, to larger life... upward, upward. ~Lyman Abbott, "Out
of the Past," sermon preached in Appleton Chapel, Harvard College,
Sunday evening, March 26, 1899

Don't look where you fall, but where you slipped. ~African Proverb

One can enjoy a wood fire worthily only when he warms his thoughts by it as well as his hands and feet. ~Odell Shepard

Practical life teaches us that people may differ and that both may be
wrong: it also teaches us that people may differ and both be right.
Anchor yourself fast in the latter faith, or the former will sweep your
heart away. ~Augustus William Hare and Julius Charles Hare, Guesses at Truth, by Two Brothers, 1827

You are never alone or helpless. The force that guides the stars guides you too. ~Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar

All things by immortal power,
Near or far,
Hiddenly
To each other are linkèd are,
That thou canst not stir a flower
Without troubling of a star...
~Francis Thompson (1859–1907), "The Mistress of Vision," c.1897

The important thing is this: to be able at any moment to sacrifice that which we are for what we could become. ~Charles Du Bos, Approximations, 1922, translated from French (Thanks, Lorianne!)

The happiest people don’t worry too much about whether life is fair or not, they just get on with it. ~Andrew Matthews

Give every man thine ear, but few thy voice;
Take each man's censure, but reserve thy judgment...
Neither a borrower nor a lender be;
For loan oft loses both itself and friend,
And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.
This above all — to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.
~William Shakespeare, Hamlet [I, 3, Polonius] [Love this
about Polonius, by Francesco Lo Piccolo: "While he is a blowhard, and he
does spout aphorisms that were, even in the sixteenth century, clichés,
his clichés constitute sound advice and his observations prove
themselves prophetic." He is also described as self-assured, cynical,
self-centered, a flatterer, long-winded, sly, devious, false, shrewd,
immoral, a sermoniser, meddling, political, arrogant, despicable, vain,
hypocritical, manipulative, verbose, insincere, self-absorbed, a
windbag, and a rambler of wisdom. —tεᖇᖇ¡·g]

Be loyal to what you love, be true to the earth, fight your enemies with passion and laughter. ~Edward Abbey

If you have to do it every day, for God's sake learn to do it well. ~Mignon McLaughlin, The Neurotic's Notebook, 1960

Most of the shadows of this life are caused by our standing in our own sunshine. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

We live in deeds, not years; in thoughts, not breaths;
In feelings, not in figures on a dial.
We should count Time by heart-throbs. He most lives
Who thinks most, feels the noblest, acts the best.
~Philip James Bailey (1816–1902)

Never let a problem to be solved become more important than the person to be loved. ~Barbara Johnson

You do not have the right to quit trying. (The universe wobbles when you
do.) You have the right to quit Toxic People. (They're contagious.)
~Dr. SunWolf, professorsunwolf.com

Dare to be imperfect and one day there will tug at your sleeve a soulmate. ~Robert Brault, rbrault.blogspot.com

Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant. ~Robert Louis Stevenson

In this age, which believes that there is a short cut to everything, the
greatest lesson to be learned is that the most difficult way is, in the
long run, the easiest. ~Henry Miller, The Books in My Life

Never explain. Your friends do not need it and your enemies will not believe it anyway. ~Elbert Hubbard, A Thousand and One Epigrams, 1911

Do not condemn the judgment of another because it differs from your own. You may both be wrong. ~Dandemis

The first thing to learn in intercourse with others is noninterference
with their own peculiar ways of being happy, provided those ways do not
assume to interfere by violence with ours. ~William James

Whatever you are, try to be a good one. ~William Makepeace Thackeray

It's better to fight for something than against something. ~Author Unknown

The day will happen whether or not you get up. ~John Ciardi

Create each day anew by clothing yourself with heaven and earth, bathing
yourself with wisdom and love, and placing yourself in the heart of
Mother Nature. ~Morihei Ueshiba

Nature gave men two ends — one to sit on and one to think with. Ever
since then man's success or failure has been dependent on the one he
used most. ~George R. Kirkpatrick

One should always play fair when one has the winning cards. ~Oscar Wilde

Strength will grow from the heart, blossom as results, and wither in others' hearts as seeds. ~Mikhael Dominico

To finish the moment, to find the journey’s end in every step of the
road, to live the greatest number of good hours, is wisdom. ~Ralph Waldo
Emerson

Think of your faults the first part of the night when you are awake, and
the faults of others the latter part of the night when you are asleep.
~Chinese Proverb

When you live in reaction, you give your power away. Then you get to experience what you gave your power to. ~N. Smith

Do not fall before you are pushed. ~English Proverb

Nothing ever goes away until it has taught us what we need to know. ~Pema Chödrön

If you must choose between a falsehood and a rudeness, choose the
rudeness; if the choice lies between a falsehood and cruelty, choose the
falsehood. ~Marie Dubsky, Freifrau von Ebner-Eschenbach (1830–1916),
translated by Mrs Annis Lee Wister, 1882

Ruts are not made by the wheels of Destiny, but by the cart of Care...
~Kenneth Alfred Evelyn Alexander (c.1890–1953), "The One-Way Mind," in The New Zealand Railways Magazine, 1931 June 1st

When "Why not do it?" barely outweighs "Why do it?" — don't do it. ~Mignon McLaughlin, The Neurotic's Notebook, 1960

An important corollary to the Golden Rule is to leave others be as you would have them leave you be. ~Robert Brault, rbrault.blogspot.com

If you hate your lot but wouldn't trade it, it's not your lot you hate. ~Mignon McLaughlin, The Second Neurotic's Notebook, 1966

No useful man has time to go back and rub out his unfortunate foot prints. ~Author unknown, from Dallas-Galveston News, c.1894

You live and let live. And eventually, that becomes enough. ~Author Unknown

Half the failures in life arise from pulling in the horse as he is leaping. ~Augustus William Hare and Julius Charles Hare, Guesses at Truth, by Two Brothers, 1827

When you invite trouble, it's usually quick to accept. ~Quoted in P.S. I Love You, compiled by H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

It's illegal to bore people. ~Mo Siegel [I saw this quote in 2003 on a sign at Celestial Seasonings in Boulder, Colorado. Siegel is one of the company's founders. —tεᖇᖇ¡·g]

A man must have something to cling to. Without that he is as a pea vine
sprawling in search of a trellis.... I was all asprawl, clinging to
Beauty, which is a very restless trellis. ~E.B. White (1899–1985)

Giving up doesn't always mean you are weak. Sometimes it means that you are strong enough to let go. ~Author Unknown

There is great power in letting go, and there is great freedom in moving on. ~Author Unknown

Promise only what you can deliver. Then deliver more than you promise. ~Author Unknown

All philosophy in two words, — sustain and abstain. ~Epictetus

Always watch where you are going. Otherwise, you may step on a piece of the Forest that was left out by mistake. ~Pooh's Little Instruction Book, inspired by A.A. Milne

Don't compromise yourself. You're all you've got. ~Janis Joplin

Every ten years a man should give himself a good kick in the pants. ~Edward Steichen

Beware of letting your comforts become means of pain; nor make yourself
miserable for the sake of being happy. ~William Benton Clulow, Horæ Otiosæ, 1833, and Aphorisms and Reflections, 1843

Life is like riding a bicycle; we can keep from falling if we keep
moving. Only a few trick-riders can stand still and not tumble. ~Author
Unknown, c.1922

Surely a man needs a closed place wherein he may strike root and, like the seed, become.
But also he needs the great Milky Way above him and the vast sea
spaces, though neither stars nor ocean serve his daily needs. ~Antoine
de Saint-Exupéry, The Wisdom of the Sands, translated from French by Stuart Gilbert

Never believe in mirrors or newspapers. ~Tom Stoppard

I may be justifying my pockets of chaos, but I will always choose people
over perfection and the heart over task and tidy. ~Betsy Cañas Garmon, www.wildthymecreative.com (2009 tweet, @wildthyme)

Never confuse thoughtlessness with malice. ~Robert Charles Whitehead

Yet some things you miss and some things you lose by keeping your arm outstretched. ~Author Unknown

The most valuable lesson man has learned from his dog is to kick a few blades of grass over it and move on. ~Robert Brault, rbrault.blogspot.com

You want to run out in front, prepare to be tripped from behind. ~S.A. Sachs

Now and then it is a joy to have one's table red with wine and roses. ~Oscar Wilde

It wasn't raining when Noah built the ark. ~Howard Ruff, How to Prosper in the Coming Bad Years, 1979

Stay quiet; refuse nothing; flowers grow only because they tranquilly
allow the sun's rays to reach them. You must do the same. ~Barbara
Juliane, baroness von Krüdener (1764–1824) to Germaine de Staël, quoted
in J. Christopher Herold, Mistress to an Age: A Life of Madame de Staël, 1958

We are cups, constantly and quietly being filled. The trick is, knowing
how to tip ourselves over and let the beautiful stuff out. ~Ray Bradbury

The opposite of education is not ignorance but indifference. The
opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference. The opposite of
faith is not heresy, it's indifference. And the opposite of life is not
death, it's indifference. Because of indifference, one dies before one
actually dies. ~Elie Wiesel, 1986

You have to give people something to dream on. ~Jimi Hendrix

I learned this, at least, by my experiment; that if one advances
confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the
life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in
common hours.... In proportion as he simplifies his life, the laws of
the universe will appear less complex, and solitude will not be
solitude, nor poverty poverty, nor weakness weakness. ~Henry David
Thoreau

Just be ordinary and nothing special. Eat your food, move your bowels,
pass water, and when you're tired, go and lie down. The ignorant will
laugh at me, but the wise will understand. ~Bruce Lee

Life begets life. Energy creates energy. It is by spending oneself that one becomes rich. ~Sarah Bernhardt

A philosopher runs on ahead of his troubles, while a foolish man lags
behind in the shadow of his difficulties. ~James Lendall Basford
(1845–1915), Seven Seventy Seven Sensations, 1897

Every day is conquerable by its hours, and every hour by its minutes. ~Robert Brault, rbrault.blogspot.com

For you have to work out your own problems,
And have to work hard every day;
You have got to hold on to the real thing;
Believe me, there's no other way!
~Gertrude Tooley Buckingham, "An Old Man's Advice to a Boy" (1940s)

To pay attention, this is our endless and proper work. ~Mary Oliver

While seeking revenge, dig two graves — one for yourself. ~Doug Horton

Use your energy for good and it will be replenished with more good
energy, use you energy for bad and your energy will be drained. ~Mike
Dolan, @HawaiianLife

To do nothing is sometimes a good remedy. ~Hippocrates

Work out your own salvation. Do not depend on others. ~Buddha

A bunny who waits for endless time and perfect conditions may never
begin to hop. ღ One conscious hop colors and moves the entire
universe. ღ Relax and hop your path as gracefully as you can. ღ The
tastiest part of the carrot grows in darkness underground. ღ Let us
give something, however small, for a small carrot is not small to the
bunny who has none. ~Krista Lester, tweets from @BunnyBuddhism,
www.bunnybuddhism.com

Make somebody happy today. Mind your own business. ~Ann Landers

Walk lightly through life. ~Guy Finley

Why chase a hopeless dream? I dunno, maybe for the dream, maybe for the
chase, maybe to meet another hopeless dreamer. ~Robert Brault, rbrault.blogspot.com

"It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out of your door," he used to
say. "You step into the Road, and if you don't keep your feet, there is
no knowing where you might be swept off to." ~J.R.R. Tolkien, "Three Is
Company," The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, 1954

There are two kinds of light — the glow that illuminates, and the glare that obscures. ~James Thurber

It is not enough to be industrious; so are the ants. What are you
industrious about? ~Henry David Thoreau, letter to H.G.O. Blake, 16
November 1857

But work a year and sleep an hour,
and sleep a night and sing a day,
And take a little wine and love,
and when you feel religious—pray.
~Frederic Ridgely Torrence, The House of a Hundred Lights: A Psalm of Experience After Reading a Couplet of Bidpai, 1899

Spread joy. Chase your wildest dreams. ~Patch Adams

Don't get your knickers in a knot. Nothing is solved and it just makes you walk funny. ~Kathryn Carpenter

Never undertake anything for which you wouldn't have the courage to ask the blessings of heaven. ~G.C. Lichtenberg

Being loved by all is little fun
Unless you're also loved by one.
~Robert Brault, rbrault.blogspot.com

Be still like a mountain and flow like a great river. ~Lao Tzu

We must have passed through life unobservantly, if we have never
perceived that a man is very much himself what he thinks of others.
~Frederick W. Faber

Do not sacrifice a large good for a little evil. ~Martin H. Fischer (1879–1962)

Never saw off the branch you are on, unless you are being hanged from it. ~Stanislaw Lec

Watch the little things; a small leak will sink a great ship. ~Benjamin Franklin

In the end the reason for anything is inseparable from the reason for everything. ~Robert Brault, rbrault.blogspot.com

The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away. ~Author Unknown

No armies are needed, no weapons are needed, no nations are needed, no
religions are needed. All that is needed is a little meditativeness, a
little silence, a little love, a little more humanity... just a little
more, and existence will become fragrant with something so totally
unique and new that you will have to find a new category for it.
~Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh

Don't despise empiric truth. Lots of things work in practice for which
the laboratory has never found proof. ~Martin H. Fischer (1879–1962)

Is bread the better for kneading? so is the heart. Knead it then by
spiritual exercises; or God must knead it by afflictions. ~Augustus
William Hare and Julius Charles Hare, Guesses at Truth, by Two Brothers, 1827

The best way to predict your future is to create it. ~Author unknown,
variant of "The future cannot be predicted, but futures can be invented"
by Dennis Gabor, Inventing the Future, 1963, and "The best way to predict the future is to invent it" by Alan Kay, 1982 (Thanks, Garson O'Toole of quoteinvestigator.com!)

You've got to do your own growing, no matter how tall your grandfather was. ~Irish Proverb

Beware of a man of one book. ~English Proverb

You cannot be anything if you want to be everything. But if you are
content to be something, you may by analogy be many things. ~Israel
Zangwill, The Principle of Nationalities, 1917

Never make your home in a place. Make a home for yourself inside your
own head. You'll find what you need to furnish it — memory, friends you
can trust, love of learning, and other such things. That way it will go
with you wherever you journey. ~Tad Williams

Leaves are light, and useless, and idle, and wavering, and changeable;
they even dance; and yet God in his wisdom has made them a part of oaks.
And in so doing he has given us a lesson, not to deny the
stout-heartedness within because we see the lightsomeness without.
~Augustus William Hare and Julius Charles Hare, Guesses at Truth, by Two Brothers, 1827

A man is rich in proportion to the number of things he can afford to let alone. ~Henry David Thoreau

Wish for nothing so much that you forget to make it come true. ~Jeb Dickerson

Friends and neighbors complain that taxes are indeed very heavy, and if
those laid on by the government were the only ones we had to pay, we
might the more easily discharge them; but we have many others, and much
more grievous to some of us. We are taxed twice as much by our idleness,
three times as much by our pride, and four times as much by our folly.
~Benjamin Franklin

Anything can happen; this is the very rule of this universe! The best
defence against this rule is this: Don't panic! ~Mehmet Murat ildan

Be kind to everyone on the way up; you'll meet the same people on the way down. ~Wilson Mizner

When you throw dirt, you lose ground. ~Texan Proverb

The great secret of success is to go through life as a man who never gets used up. ~Albert Schweitzer

Everyone should learn to do one thing supremely well because he likes
it, and one thing supremely well because he detests it. ~Brigham Young

Sometimes the only way you can take a really good look at yourself is through somebody else's eyes. ~From the television show Scrubs

Sometimes the best way to hold onto something is to let it go. ~Author Unknown

It isn't what you know that counts, it's what you think of in time. ~Author Unknown

The future lies before you, like paths of pure white snow. Be careful
how you tread it, for every step will show. ~Author Unknown

The world makes life one hell of a ride, and i'll be grateful if the cycle stopped for once, but it's not possible. I believe there's more to people than what they say,,,and whatever they say means more than what they believe in.

I came across some very inspiring words that made

me wish to share them with the whole world. I however do not take credit of them :-)

""

1. There are plenty of ways to enter a pool. The stairs is not one of them.

2. Never cancel dinner plans by text message.

3. Don’t knock it ‘til you try it.

4. If a street performer makes you stop walking, you owe him a buck.

5. Always use “we” when referring to your home team or your government.

6. When entrusted with a secret, keep it.

7. DON’T underestimate free throws in a game of HORSE.

8. Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.

9. Don’t dumb it down.

10. You only get one chance to notice a new haircut.

11. If you’re staying more than one night, unpack.

12. Never park in front of a bar.

13. Expect the seat in front of you to recline. Prepare accordingly.

14. Keep a picture of your first fish, first car, and first girl/boyfriend.

15. Hold your heroes to a high standard.

16. A suntan is earned, not bought.

17. Never lie to your doctor.

18. All guns are loaded.

19. Don’t mention sunburns. Believe me, they know.

20. The best way to show thanks is to wear it. Even if it’s only once.

21. Take a vacation from your cell phone, internet, and TV once a year.

22. Don’t fill up on bread, no matter how good it is.

23. A handshake beats an autograph.

24. Don’t linger in the doorway. In or out.

25. If you choose to go in drag, don’t sell yourself short.

26. If you want to know what makes you unique, sit for a caricature.

27. Never get your haircut the day of a special event.

28. Be mindful of what comes between you and the Earth. Always buy good shoes, tires, and sheets.

29. Never eat lunch at your desk if you can avoid it.

30. When you’re with new friends, don’t just talk about old friends.

31. Eat lunch with the new kids.

32. When traveling, keep your wits about you.

33. It’s never too late for an apology.

34. Don’t pose with booze.

35. If you have right of way, TAKE IT.

36. You don’t get to choose your own nickname.

37. When you marry someone, remember you marry their entire family.

38. Never push someone off a dock.

39. Under no circumstances should you ask a woman if she is pregnant.

40. It’s not enough to be proud of your ancestry, live up to it.

41. Don’t make a scene.

42. When giving a thank you speech, short and sweet is best.

43. Know when to ignore the camera.

44. Never gloat.

45. Invest in great luggage.

46. Make time for your mom on your birthday, It’s her special day too.

47. When opening presents, no one likes a good guesser.

48. Sympathy is a crutch, never fake a limp.

49. Give credit. Take Blame.

50. Suck it up every now and again.

51. Never be the last one in the pool.

52. Don’t stare.

53. Address everyone that carries a firearm professionally.

54. Stand up to bullies. You’ll only have to do it once.

55. If you’ve made your point, stop talking.

56. Admit it when you’re wrong.

57. If you offer to help don’t quit until the job is done.

58. Look people in the eye when you thank them.

59. Thank the bus driver.

60. Never answer the phone at the dinner table.

61. Forgive yourself for your mistakes.

62. Know at least one good joke.

63. Don’t boo. Even the ref is somebody’s son.

64. Know how to cook one good meal.

65. Learn to drive a stick shift.

66. Be cool to younger kids. Reputations are built over a lifetime.

67. It’s okay to go to the movies by yourself.

68. Dance with your mother/father.

69. Don’t lose your cool. Especially at work.

70. Always thank the host.

71. If you don’t understand, ask before it’s too late.

72. Know the size of your boyfriend/girlfriend's clothes.

73. There is nothing wrong with a plain t-shirt.

74. Be a good listener. Don’t just take your turn to talk.

75. Keep your word.

76. In college always sit in the front. You’ll stand out immediately. Come grade time it might come in handy.

77. Carry your mother’s bags. She carried you for 9 months.

78. Be patient with airport security. They are just doing their job.

79. Don’t be the talker in a movie.

80. The opposite sex likes people who shower.

81. You are what you do. Not what you say.

82. Learn to change a tire.

83. Be kind. Everyone has a hard fight ahead of them.

84. An hour with grandparents is time well spent. Ask for advice when you need it.

85. Don’t litter.

86. If you have a sister, get to know her boyfriend. Your opinion is important.

87. You won’t always be the strongest of fastest. But you can be the toughest.

88. Never call someone before or after 9 AM and 9PM.

89. Buy the orange properties in Monopoly.

90. Make the little things count.

91. Always wear a bra at work.

92. There is a fine line between looking sultry and slutty. Find it.

93. You’re never too old to need your mom.

94.
Ladies, if you make the decision to wear heels on the first date commit
to keeping them on and toning down how much your feet kill.

95. Know the words to your national anthem.

96. Your dance moves might not be the best, but I promise making a fool of yourself is more fun than sitting on the bench alone.

Wednesday, 14 September 2016

'The
sole end for which mankind are warranted, individually or collectively, in
interfering with the liberty of action of any of their number, is
self-protection. That the only purpose for which power can be rightfully
exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to
prevent harm to others. His own good, either physical or moral, is not
sufficient warrant.'

What
could be clearer? Except it isn't clear: it depends on what you mean by harm.
Does hate speech harm minorities? Does sexist language harm women, by making
them less credible in the eyes of society? Philosophical principles are like
credit agreements: the headlines are convincing, but the small print catches
you out.

There must be a reason why
the big bang happened, but that does not mean it happened for any end or goal

The idea that everything is as it is for a reason is the assumption behind most
of philosophy. If we thought that things just happened, we would not bother to
try to work out their causes. But then nor would we assume that longer days
meant more sunshine meant warmer weather. But this principle is crucially
different from the one that says everything must have a purpose.

Good as a
'mean' that stands between two bads: that of excess and that of deficiency

Moral thinking is steeped in sharp dualities:
Good v Evil, God v Satan, Right v Wrong, Heaven v Hell. Popular mythology, from
humanity's fall from grace in the Garden of Eden to Star Wars, is full of tales
of people going over to the dark side. But long before modern psychology told
us that we all have our shadow side, an Ancient Greek philosopher came up with
an idea that was even more subtle: it is not that there are shades of grey
between moral black and white - good and bad aren't opposites at all. Rather,
the good is a 'mean' that stands between two bads: that of excess and that of
deficiency. Courage, for instance, is the mean between the excess of rashness
and the deficit of cowardice. Mercy is the mean between the excess of vengefulness
and the deficiency of surrender. It's a brilliant idea that utterly transforms
how you look at right and wrong.

A theory is only scientific
if you know what would disprove it

Common sense once held that a theory was
scientific if you knew how to prove it. That's why conspiracy theories are
nonsense: no matter what the evidence, believers insist this proves how tough
the cover-up is. Similarly, you could argue that the theory that God does what
is best for us is not scientific, because whatever happens, believers insist it
must be for the greater good. God's goodness may be a theological claim but
it's not evidential.

'Since reason commands that
such actions should take place, it must be possible for them to take place'

How often do people insist that 'Something should be done' even
though they've no idea what that something is? But unless you have an idea what
should be done, how do you even know that it's possible to do anything at all?
It makes no sense to say something should be unless it actually can be. In
other words, if a prescription is truly rational, then it must be possible.
Which means if it looks rational, but isn't possible, it isn't rational at all,
like expecting a system to run on debt indefinitely.

'A weaker evidence can
never destroy a stronger'

'A wise man proportions his belief to the evidence' sounds like
advice you know already. But it's more easily agreed with than followed, and
the results can be uncomfortable. Sounds obvious, but when it comes to the
miraculous, has the testimony of any witness ever been stronger evidence than
the testimony of all the rest of life, which tells us that nature's laws do not
admit exceptions? If not then anyone who claims to base belief on evidence can
never believe in miracles.

The difference principle
states that increases in inequality are only permissible if they benefit the
worst-off members of society

If some philosophical principles seem so obvious as not to be
worth stating, others shatter consensus. Such is the case with Rawls's
difference principle, which the Liberal Democrats once considered adopting as
policy. This states that increases in inequality are only permissible if they
benefit the worst-off members of society. It sounds radical, but after recent
events with bankers' bonuses, fewer people now believe that concern about
growing pay at the top of the economic scale is pure envy. The difference
principle states that it is fine for the rich to get richer only if the poor
always become richer than they would have done had the wealthy been held back.
It's a liberal compromise between the socialist demand for equality and the
neo-liberal disregard for equality.

If a man is sending a woman mixed messages, the simple answer is, he's just not
that into her

In an age of five-blade razors, the one wielded by William of
Occam is ironically named, for it is the requirement not to multiply entities
beyond necessity. So, if you can explain the workings of the world by
postulating only the existence of matter, you should not prefer an explanation
that also posits ectoplasm, unless that more complicated theory can explain
more. The principle is also known as one of economy of explanation: all other
things being equal, a simpler explanation is more likely to be true than a
complicated one. It's a principle that has even found its way into Sex And
The City: if a man is sending a woman mixed messages, the simple answer is
he's just not that into her.

The morality of war is
determined both by the reasons for starting it and its conduct once begun

Thinkers have long pondered when war is morally justified, but
modern theories of just war are little more than amendments to those set down
by Thomas Aquinas in the 13th century. The morality of a war is determined both
by the reasons for starting it and its conduct once begun. To wage war, the
cause needs to be just, it must be waged by an army with legitimate authority,
it must be fought for the right intentions, there must be a good probability of
success, the response must be proportionate, and it must be the last resort.
Armies must use proportionate force and discriminate between combatants and
innocent civilians.